Founded in 1984 in Kalama, Wash., USA, Pyramid, the last publicly traded brewery in Seattle, grew on the strength of its unfiltered wheat beer portfolio and produced 200,000 barrels of beer in 2007. Privately held Magic Hat began operations in 1994 when brewer Bob Johnson and entrepreneur Alan Newman brewed the first 15-barrel batch. Magic Hat produces #9, Lucky Kat and Circus Boy brands along with a number of seasonals. The brewer produced about 100,000 barrels of beer last year.

While Magic Hat sells its brands in Eastern US markets, Pyramid is primarily distributed in 13 US Western states. Pyramid also operates alehouse restaurants in Seattle and California cities Berkeley, Sacramento and Walnut Creek. Pyramid is the fifth largest craft brewer, according to the Brewers Association, while Magic Hat is ranked 12th, based on 2007 sales.

In a statement, Pyramid’s CEO Scott Barnum said the consolidation makes good strategic and financial sense and is well timed, particularly as the beer industry’s competitive dynamics continue to intensify.

“The combination of these two well-established, high-profile craft breweries will be very complementary given Our respective brand portfolios and the geographies in which we predominantly operate. There will be a number of important benefits for Pyramid to be part of a private company versus continuing to operate as a stand-alone public entity,” he said.